NEW YORK — For now, the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees can only hear about their past playoff battles, which only their respective managers were alive to witness.
None of the current players are of age to recall the four times between 1976 and 1980 when Kansas City and New York met in the postseason.
That will change Saturday, when the Yankees host the Royals to begin the best-of-five American League Division Series and rekindle a rivalry that has been smoldering for decades.
Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA regular season) will pitch for New York against fellow right-hander Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA).
The renowned ALCS battles from years ago featured George Brett, Willie Wilson and Dennis Leonard starring for Kansas City against Yankees standouts Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson and Ron Guidry.
The rivalry renews this year with Bobby Witt Jr. shining for the Royals against the New York power duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
“As a kid, Kansas City was another planet away for me,” said second-year Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro, a native of Selkirk, N.Y. “That was out west. They’d go out west, and they were tough games or whatever that kind of mentality.”
Wacha said he has learned to appreciate the rivalry even though he was born in 1991, more than a decade after the teams’ most recent playoff matchup.
“Definitely have seen some highlights over the past couple days once we knew the matchup,” Wacha said. “Yeah, it’s great. It’s great for the fans. To bring back those games and those memories.”
The Royals are in the postseason for the first time since winning the 2015 World Series. New York last won it all in 2009.
Kansas City has weathered three 100-plus loss seasons since its most recent title, including a franchise record-tying 106-loss campaign last year. The Royals’ 104 losses in 2018 positioned them to select Witt second overall in 2019.
So far, Witt has proven his worth.
The 24-year-old hit .332 during the regular season to win his first AL batting title and racked up 32 home runs with 109 RBIs in his third season.
Witt said he has learned about the past postseason battles between Kansas City and New York from Brett, currently the Royals’ vice president of baseball operations.
“Just from hearing it from (Brett) and just how that kind of little rivalry went around,” Witt Jr. said. “But yeah, anytime just trying to create your own legacy with the team we have here and how special it is.”
Witt began his playoff career by delivering the eventual game-winning RBI singles in both of Kansas City’s one-run wins over the host Baltimore Orioles to sweep the best-of-three wild-card series.
“He’s one of the game’s great players,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Witt. “He’s a handful, and certainly a guy that has our attention.”
New York finished with the AL’s best record thanks to dynamic performances from Judge and Soto.
Two years after his 62 home runs set the AL record, Judge finished with 58 to go along with a career-high 144 RBIs. Soto hit a career-best 41 homers and scored 128 runs in his first season with the Yankees since being acquired from the San Diego Padres last December.
“I think we have a chance to win it all,” Boone said. “But I think everyone that’s still going probably feels that same way, rightfully so. “I feel like in a lot of ways we’re in a better position going into the playoffs this year with some of the things that have kind of come together at the end.”
Cole is 10-6 with 2.93 in 17 career postseason starts. He is 4-2 with a 3.49 ERA in seven playoff starts with New York.
Cole ended his regular season (which did not start until June 19 because of an elbow injury) by allowing one run in his final 15 2/3 innings.
The Yankees took five of seven meetings in the regular season from Kansas City, though Cole did not face them. Cole is 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA in eight career starts against the Royals.
Wacha signed a two-year, $32 million deal with Kansas City last December and went 9-2 over his final 15 starts. He did not face New York this season but is 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA in 11 career outings (nine starts) against the Yankees.
Wacha is 4-3 with a 5.21 ERA in eight career postseason appearances (six starts).
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media